Portrait of Chekhov in the Tretyakov Gallery. History of creation, description of the portrait

In the Tretyakov Gallery, which was the foundation in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, a very famous merchant, is the only lifetime portrait of Chekhov. The young Petersburg artist Joseph Braz painted this painting commissioned by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov in the eighteenth ninety eighth - the year of the death of this famous patron and collector of Russian art. The whole collection includes more than one thousand of the most famous canvases, about five hundred drawings and ten sculptures of Russian artists, as well as about a hundred paintings by foreign artists.

The last work of the famous collection of merchant Tretyakov

Thus, the portrait of Chekhov completed a brilliant collection, which Pavel Mikhailovich tirelessly collected for many years. Portraits of Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky, Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov composed the unique and unique painting of the Russian culture in its own way.

To date, a portrait of Chekhov in the Tretyakov Gallery is constantly stored in its archival stores. And it is exposed in its majestic halls only on special holidays. These are either the dates of the anniversaries of Anton Pavlovich, or the days of special celebrations.

Such a unique collection of works is the greatest treasure for any museum. And the desire of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov to have in his collection a portrait of A.Chekhov is natural and understandable. It is difficult to explain another thing: why did the pupil of Repin, who had barely declared himself, got such a responsible and honorable order?

The literary image created by Ilya Efimovich

At that time, Ilya Efimovich Repin dreamed of writing an image of Anton Pavlovich for many years. And one day, having learned about this, Chekhov in his usual manner - half-seriously-half-jokingly - noticed that he was ready to give up all the business and posing for the great artist all day and night.

Subsequently Ilya Yefimovich will write a literary portrait of Chekhov, and we must admit that this description will be much more precise and expressive than the picture of Joseph Braz. "A subtle, purely Russian analysis prevailed in his eyes over the whole face." He was pleased to feel the chain of courage. "

Dissatisfaction of the writer with his own image and his statements

It was this "chain of courage" that was not on the canvas that Joseph Braz created. The portrait of Chekhov did not impress the writer himself. He was not enthusiastic about this masterpiece. And he even spoke in a peculiar way about this: "I have such an expression here, as if I smelled horseradish ...".

A few years later he expressed himself even more sharply: "This is a terrible portrait, and if I began to write gloomy stories, then my portrait is to blame." The simplicity and tolerance of the greatest writer of many has been misleading. Even among the people who knew him personally, there were many who tried to present the writer with an inactive and sad nature. A weak man.

What the artist Joseph Broaz could not convey

Chekhov was very active and responsive in kind. After all, it was to him that the peasants from the neighboring village of Melikhov came with a request to build a school. Anton Pavlovich built three schools, which were considered exemplary. All this and many other things did this great writer who lived by literary work - at that time not very profitable and profitable. Not without reason, lack of money is a constant theme of Chekhov's jokes.

In the autumn of one thousand eight hundred and ninety eight, in the year when the artist Chekhov was created by the artist Joseph Braz, the writer notified his sister about his decision: the fee for the "Seagull" would go to school. And that's all Anton Pavlovich.

This is the creator who was able to unite the most important qualities in his personality. This is compassion, prose work and a sense of beauty. He had a unique worldview, subtle and sensitive movements of the soul.

A famous portrait of Chekhov. Photo writer for image comparison

None of these qualities could not convey in his work is still a young, novice painter. Joseph Braz worked on the canvas for several years. The first portrait, created in the year eighteen ninety-seven, was not liked not only by the artist himself, he was rejected by Pavel Tretyakov himself, the owner of the museum.

But the second job, sold to the customer, did not impress Anton Pavlovich. The portrait seemed uninteresting to him. According to Chekhov, there was something superfluous in this image, but something was not enough. Even the usual photo conveyed the image of Anton Pavlovich much more alive than the canvas of Joseph Braz.

How did the young painter of the great writer see and depict?

Too elegant and mannered was the portrait of Anton Pavlovich. The artist portrayed him as an ordinary person who belonged to the typical Russian intelligentsia of the late nineteenth century.

Joseph Braz created an elegant image of Chekhov, who is buried in an elegant elegant armchair with a velvet back. The writer's face is very subtle. It is inclined to a pale, bloodless hand, and the eyes behind the pince-nez glasses are boundlessly sad and dry. The whole picture is written in very cold and dark colors, which give the appearance of Anton Pavlovich not only a serious, but even some painful expression.

Comparative images of Anton Pavlovich's images

If you compare the description of the portrait of Chekhov and a photograph of a great writer, you can see a noticeable difference. A copy of the image taken by the photographer shows a person who is full of vitality and young enthusiasm.

The open face of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov glows with some special cunning. It feels simplicity and fearlessness. And the radiant eyes of the writer express a deep thought and at the same time a kind of childish spontaneity. Nevertheless, there is undoubted intelligibility in the whole image, which adds a special charm to the embodied image of Anton Pavlovich.

And looking at the portrait of Chekhov, written by Joseph Braz, it is impossible not to notice that here the writer looks much stricter and at the same time sadder. In his image, there is already no immediacy that is present in the photographs. All facial features became as if stricter and tougher, and the look is filled with deep thoughtfulness. There is a certain coldness of the intelligentsia in it.

Nevertheless, the portrait of Chekhov described in the Tretyakov Gallery remains the only work of art that was created during the life of the greatest writer. Nobody so much dared to take up the brush and write Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. This portrait was reproduced in countless copies, but the true creator of the unique masterpiece is the young pupil of Ilya Efimovich Repin, the painter Braz.